The Irish slag cement producer Ecocem has been ‘bucking the trend’ of cement sector consolidation in Europe over the past few years as it has expanded both its production base and product range. The company endured a tough time during the recession in Ireland but has now positioned itself strongly for future challenges. Global Cement recently caught up with Ecocem Ireland’s Managing Director Micheál McKittrick to hear about the past, present and future of the company...
Solving large fan noise problems has conventionally involved many days or weeks of downtime, high capital expenditure and a reduction in system efficiency. There is now an elegant alternative that can be installed in hours at a fraction of the cost - and that can actually improve system efficiency…
Aalborg Portland in Aalborg, Denmark, has been using solid recovered fuel (SRF) for many years. The SRF is burnt in the pre-calciner on a grey cement kiln line. Substitution rates have grown over the years and are currently at approximately 45%. Around 65,000t/yr of its alternative fuel is baled and wrapped SRF, which mostly arrives via sea directly into the plant. To overcome some operational issues, Aalborg Portland recently purchased a new bale-opener from fellow Danish firm ReTec Miljø ApS.
The past 12 months have been relatively quiet for the UK, as the nation entered a kind of post-Brexit-vote ‘phoney war,’ defined by the evolving consequences of the EU Referendum in June 2016. The economy has been stable, except for a sharp downturn in the months surrounding the referendum campaign itself, with reasonable prospects for modest growth in construction activity over the next couple of years. Here Edwin Trout of the Cement Industry Suppliers’ Forum looks back over the UK cement sector in the past year...
Increasing requirements relating to energy consumption, productivity, emissions and operational costs have led to a range of ways to optimise cement production. Here KIMA Echtzeitsysteme describes its KilnCooler system, which uses water to reduce the impact of hot spots on cement rotary kilns. When we speak about putting water on an, admittedly hot, rotary kiln, many people have concerns. These should be thrown overboard. A rainstorm will bring far more water onto the kiln than the system described below.
